Any person who receives a service from Parkinson Canada organization, any of the agencies whom we work with can make a complaint or anyone who is impacted upon by the service we deliver can make a complaint. If necessary, a person can ask a representative to make the complaint on their behalf.

How should complaints be made?

Complaints may be made verbally or in writing. We commit to handling your complaint as quickly and thoroughly as possible. Verbal complaints can be made in two ways:

Telephoning the national office

In person, by scheduling an appointment with the Chief Executive Officer (CEO)

You may also submit your complaint in writing, setting out the nature of your complaint in as much detail as possible and sending your letter to the CEO.

Response Times

All telephone calls requesting a return call received will be returned no later than the end of the next working business day. Letters will be acknowledged within 3 working days on receipt and a full reply will be sent within 14 working days of receipt.

At all stages the complainant will be kept informed as to what is happening with their complaint or appeal. If for whatever reason it is not possible to deal with the complaint within the published time scale then the complainant will be informed of this, and a reason given.

Stages of the Complaints Procedure

Stage One

In the first instance, a complaint can be made to any employee of Parkinson Canada – National Office. That employee will either write down the details of the complaint if the complaint is being made verbally and forward it to the most senior person in the organization, any written complaints will be forwarded in the same manner.

The complainant will be informed of the time scale within which they will receive a response as indicated

If the matter is not resolved within the timescale or within a mutually agreed time, it will be referred to stage

Stage Two

At this stage, a meeting will be convened between the person (and their representative if necessary) and an appointed employee who has not been involved in the complaint. This will take place within 14 days of the matter being referred to stage

Following discussions with all relevant parties, the appointed employee looking into the complaint will prepare a written statement of their findings and any recommendations. A copy of the statement will be given to the

If the person complaining is not satisfied with the decision, they then have the option to appeal within 7 working days of receiving the

The complaint will then be referred to stage

Stage Three

A panel will be convened of independent persons who have the relevant skill and knowledge and understand the issues surrounding the complaint being made. The person making the complaint along with their representative if appropriate will be invited to attend the panel hearing and present their The complaint will be heard again in its entirety.

The panel will then inform the complainant in writing of their decision within 3 working days of the

The decision from this panel hearing is

Recording of Complaints

A record of a complaint and its outcome should be kept and this should be filed separately from the individuals records. Individuals will still have access to this through the provisions made by Parkinson Canada for all to have access to records held about them.

Complaints Leading to Disciplinary Action

This policy is concerned only with resolving complaints and not with the investigation of disciplinary matters.

The purpose of the complaints procedure is not to apportion blame amongst staff. It is to investigate complaints to the satisfaction of complainants (while being fair to any staff involved) and to learn any lessons for improvement in service delivery. Inevitably however, some complaints will throw up information about serious matters which indicate a need for disciplinary investigation.

A case for considering disciplinary action can be suggested at any point during the complaints procedure, but consideration as to whether or not disciplinary action is warranted is a separate matter for management, outside the complaints procedure and must be subject to a separate process of investigation.

Relevant papers that have been accumulated during the investigation of the Complaint may be passed to the appropriate person in the organization who will be considering the need for a disciplinary or other form of investigation.

The complaints procedure will not deal with matters which are currently the subject of disciplinary investigation. If action is initiated under the disciplinary procedure the complainant should be advised accordingly.

When a decision is made to embark upon a disciplinary investigation, the processing of the complaints procedure does not automatically cease. There may well be other aspects of the original complaint, not covered by the disciplinary inquiry that should continue to be investigated.

On the other hand, there may be no outstanding issues from the original complaint to be investigated, in which case the complainant should be advised that no further action will be taken other than that through the disciplinary procedure. The complainant may well ask at this point to be informed of the outcome of the disciplinary inquiry.

A judgment will need to be made; on the one hand, in terms of reassuring the complainant, who will be concerned that the matter complained about has been dealt with seriously and satisfactorily; and on the other, the protection of the confidentiality of the member of staff.

The guiding principle will be that when the disciplinary procedure is invoked, the complainant receives the same consideration and level of information as if the matter had been dealt with through the complaints procedure. The complainant should be able to understand what happened, why it happened and what action has been taken as a consequence to ensure that it does not happen again. The complainant should be informed in general terms of any disciplinary sanction imposed on any staff member

Monitoring and Reporting

The CEO will oversee complaints received by the organization.

Continued monitoring of complaints will take place within the organization and will form part of the compliance reviews. The Board of Directors will receive a consolidated, statement of complaints every board meeting (three times per year).

Parkinson Canada will be required to make available information regarding the numbers of complaints as part of its annual report.

Arrangements for dealing with complaints will be monitored by the CEO to identify trends and ensure that appropriate action has been taken. Procedures will be reviewed annually, both to consider any amendments that are necessary to services and procedures as well as to enable effective and satisfactory working arrangements to be maintained.

The organization through its monitoring and reporting of the frequency and handling of complaints will constantly be looking for ways in which Complaints, Policies and Procedures can be improved. When such improvements are implemented, these will in turn be monitored by the Board of Directors and will become part of the quarterly compliance report.

Spot checks will be made to verify that action resulting from a complaint has been implemented. All formal complaints should be in writing. Where the complainant is unable to put the formal complaint in writing, the Human Resources Manager should ensure that a record of the complaint is made and ask the complainant to sign it.

Monitoring and Review

The Chief Executive will be responsible for monitoring compliance with this policy. The policy will be reviewed 1 year from implementation or last review date.

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Committed to Canada

Since 1965, Parkinson Canada has worked to provide support services and education to people living with Parkinson’s disease, their families, and the health care professionals who treat them. We advocate on issues that affect the Parkinson’s community in Canada, and we aggressively fund innovative research for better treatments and a cure.

Parkinson Canada is a national registered charity accredited under the Imagine Canada Standards Program. We achieve our mission through the support of people like you.

With your support, you inspire the kind of action that will make a profound difference in the well-being of Canadians living with Parkinson’s disease. Together, we will continue the global quest for a cure and create a world without Parkinson’s disease.